Streaking back into action: Pence homers in return

Without much ado, right fielder Hunter Pence returned to the lineup Monday. Pence sat out a game for the first time this season on Sunday because of tightness in his lower back.

“I’m good,” is about all Pence would offer about his condition. He considered himself ready, willing and able to play on Sunday but got overruled.

“We have a full team of 25 guys who can come in and play,” Pence said. “That’s part of being a team. Some people have to have days to start, keep them to pinch-hit off the bench. I just try to give everything I have every day. That’s who I am.”

Pence extended his hitting streak to 23 games with a two-run, third-inning home run off Braves righthander Derek Lowe. The streak ties Luis Gonzalez, Art Howe and Moises Alou for the fourth longest in team history.

Sign of the times

One week after the start of the 2011 draft, the Astros have signed eight of their top 10 picks and 18 of the top 25.

The two highest unsigned picks are liable to take some time.

Third-round choice Jack Armstrong, a righthanded pitcher from Vanderbilt, is off-limits until his team gets eliminated from the College World Series. First-round pick George Springer, a center fielder out of Connecticut, had his season end Sunday with a super regional loss to South Carolina.

The No. 11 pick from the past four drafts has secured a signing bonus ranging from $1.9 million (the Mariners’ Phillippe Aumont in 2007) to $3.9 million (the Rockies’ Tyler Matzek in 2009), so negotiations can get complicated.

Astros scouting director Bobby Heck said the team will wait until later this week or early next week before beginning the process. The Astros had East Coast scouting supervisor Clarence Johns at UConn’s super regional on Saturday and national cross checker David Post at the site on Sunday — not to begin negotiations, but for getting-acquainted purposes.

“I’m not expecting this to be an expedited signing,” said Heck. “He just played (66) games. We’ll give him a little time to relax and heal up a little bit. He’s had a long year, and they’ve been on the road for the last few weeks with regionals, super regionals, Big East tournament. He tweaked his hamstring, and he ran into a wall. So I’d be inclined to give him a little bit of heal time even if I thought it would be extremely fast (signing him).”

Heck announced Monday the signing of first baseman Zachary Johnson, a 15th-round pick from Oklahoma State, and undrafted utility player Neiko Johnson of Kentucky. The signing deadline is Aug. 15.

Odds and ends

Outfielder Jason Bourgeois, who sat out Sunday with an ankle injury, got a clean bill of health after having an MRI on Monday and is taking an anti-inflammatory treatment. … Jason Michaels, on making three difficult catches in right field in Sunday’s game: “I just told Bournie (Gold Glove center fielder Michael Bourn) I should play in center.” … Bourn picked up his 200th career stolen base on Monday. It was his 191st as an Astro, moving him past Jimmy Wynn for ninth place on the franchise list.